Conveyer swivel joint



July 22, 1952 M. A. GLEESON CONVEYER SWIVEL JOINT 2 Sl-EETS-Sl-1EET 1 Filed Aug. 6 1951 INVENTOR.

July 22, 19 52 M. A. 'GLEESON 2,604,201

CONVEYER SWIVEL JOINT Filed Aug. 6, 1951 2 SHEETS-Sl-IEET 2 IN V EN TOR.

Patented July 22, 1 952 CONVEYER swlviii. jorr'i'r L Murray A. Gleeson, Chicagoijilllg assignor'tto I Goodman Manufacturing Company; Chicago,

111.,acorporationoflllinois plic tion August6,1951 iji i 4 Claims. (01, 19 i j-; 1

cross-tracking in the type of underground mining equipment commonly known as a TPiggyback. 1

Other objects and advantages will'be'developed in the following description taken in connection with the drawings in .which;

Figure 1 is a side view of a conventional Pi yback installation in which two 180 degree swivel joints, in accordance with the present invention, may be advantageously used;

Fig. la is a fragmentary enlarged view of Fig.1;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary plan view of' one of the 180 degree swivels shown in Fig. 1'; and

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary perspective view of the parts shown in Fig. 2.

Referring now more particularly to the drawings, the numeral N indicates a main belt conveyor extending into a room where a loading machine I2 is picking up coal or the like. The Piggyback I3 is a relatively short frame having an endless belt or chain conveyor |4 driven by motor means generally designated I6 and conveys coal from the loader l2 to the main conveyor I, the Piggyback deriving its name from the fact that its discharge end is mounted on a wheeled dolly H which runs back and forth atop rails |8 along the sides of the main conveyor.

The transfer conveyor |3 (that is the Piggyback) has its inby end l8 supported beneath the unloading boom 2| of the loading machine. There is a swivel joint, generally designated 22, between the loader and transfer conveyor permitting a full 180 degree swinging range between the loader and Piggyback conveyors l0 and I4 respectively while loading is being carried At the inby lend of. thetran'sfer conveyor. I3

is a generally U-shapedhoppr 24 and mounted on posts 26 on the upper side of the hopper a guideplate 21 whichhas a pair of hook formations 28, 28 defining a'pair of transversely spaced,

longitudinally. extending recesses 29', 29 ,forrried in thplate. j'eferring' pivoted as by means or insfairgal onto' a p'ai r of 'upstandinglears '32, 32 of .a' Uf-shapedIsaddle member generally designated33f The Saddle member is assembled. so that its bottom surface 34 (Fig. la) .isslidably' mounted across the top ofthe guide plate-.21. LA pair of pivot 'pins 36, .36

1 depend 'frornthe bottom Jof thesaddle portion of the upper conveyor 2|,and, as 'showninFig. 2 are transversely spaced a distanceequalto the spacing of the recesses 29.- At their-bottom out; there is a similar swivel joint, generally designated 23, between the outby end of the ,Piggyback transfer conveyor and the dolly ends the .pivot pins 36 carry 'a 'cro'ssjjplate 3] whose upper surface 38 (Fig. .lw) is'sIidabIy-em.

gagedwiththe underside of the'guid plate'fl so that the upper conveyor frame 2|",m'ayrsupport ,the'lower conveyor frame. --|9' above the ground at all. times. 1 f. a

' The crux-of the present, invention resides in providing a horizontally elongated'guide shoe 39 pivotally mounted 'on'each 'pin" 36 to, positively eliminate fcro'ss-tracking, .l as will, be explained subsequently.

Referring now back to the details of the guide plate 21, it is formed with a cam surface for each of the shoes 39 comprising a continuation of the outer surface 42 of the corresponding recess 29 and each cam surface 4| extends through at least a degree are struck from the pivotal axis of the other shoe when the latter is seated in its corresponding recess, as will be seen by examining Fig. 2. Each cam surface 4| extends beyond the juncture of the two cam surfaces (at X, Fig. 2) and continues in an elongated recess 43. For convenience in the subsequent description, the width of each of the recesses 43 is designated Y.

The outer, cam-engaging surfaces 5| of the shoes 39 are preferably formed arcuately with a curve matching that of the cam surfaces 4| so as to fit stably thereagainst; furthermore, to facilitate entry into and egress from the recesses 43 at the juncture X, the opposite ends of the shoe 39 will preferably be narrowed, beveled, or pointed as best shown in Fig. 2.

Prior, conventional transfer conveyors of this general type have failed to utilize any equivalent of the pivotal shoes 39. They have attempted to function merely with the pins 36, 36 and it new toFigs. 1 nd lait iu b tea-.1 that the discharge 'boom- 2| 1.0f ,the 'IOadenis was found that quite often, when the two conveyors were turned at the intermediate angle shown in Fig. 2, the lower pin 36 would be inadvertently shifted into the left hand recess 43 thereby permitting the upper pin 36 to be shifted out of its holding recess '29 altogether, requiring a V shut" down" while the parts "were: properly re -f.

assembled; This misalignmentis referred to 4 as cross-tracking Attempts have been made to eliminate this cross-tracking by making the re-'-:

cesses 29 in relatively large circularform, the

recesses each having an open side located about i where the open side is in the present recesses, n and making the pivot pins 36 with a long narrow cross section extending across the circular recesses at a disposition which prevents their being pulled out of thefrecess at the 'timetha't cross tracking may occur. But this method has not -l. A conveyor swivel Join-twith .J1180"-degree swing comprising upper and lower conveyors arranged in cascade relationship; a guide plate; said lower conveyor being dependent from and supported by said guide plate; said guide plate having a pair of transversely spaced, longitudimuy extending; recesses formed therein; a pair :of horizontally; elongated shoes seatable in said recesses and pivoted about transversely spaced been found entirely satisfactory because of the M stress concentration on the edges of the pins causing rapid Wear and in the relatively large space required by the circular recesses when made big enough to do their job. V

.It is believed that the operation of the present invention will be obvious from the foregoing disclosure; Briefly, however, when the right hand shoe 39 is seated in the right handirecess 29, as shown in Fig. 2, the upperdischarge conveyor' ZI fatthe. rear of the loader l2 -can swivel through a full arc of 90 degrees relative to the lower transfer conveyor l3, as the other shoe traverses'the arcuate cam 4| from one end to the other. As the discharge conveyor 21 is.

swung; through a straight-ahead position the left hand shoe 39 will be seated in the left hand recess2 following which the conveyor 2| may be swungthrough another; opposite, 90 degree are as the right hand shoe 39 traverses its corresponding cam 4|.

The length of the shoes 39 will depend somewhat on the width of the openings Y for the recesses 43 and will be chosen long enough to properly bridge said openings Y as the shoes are moved across them. Inorder to properly stabilize the shoes 39 when they are seated'in their respective recesses 29, the inner shoulders of the hook formations 28 should extendbeyond the pivotal axisvof the pins 36, so the shoes may notbe shifted inadvertently out of their fulcrum position.

axes o n"the underside of said upper conveyor;

said plate being formed with a cam surface for each of said shoes comprising a continuation of an outer surface of thecorresponding recess and extending through at least a .QO degree arc SjlllCk from the pivotal axis 'o f flthe1 23ther shoe when seated in its corresponding recess; said 'n opening forlthe passage of maplate having 1 terial between said camsurfaces. I a

2. 'A' conveyor swivel joint according tjo claim 1 in: which said shoes have arcu atQe' outer contours r mh natoi tha @tsai Q ljg 'ins m .ysurfacesffqrme'd inlthe guide plate.

v u 3. A'conveyor swivel joint according to claim 1 in which'said shoes are formedwitli relativelyi narrowed leading edges. a

conveyor .sw'ivelljo int accordingtoclairn in which each of said shoe +receiving recesses is definedby, inner. and outer, shoulders of sufiicient length to overlap the pivotalflaxis'ofitheeorre- 'spondingshoe, Whenthe :latter is seated in said recess to thereby stably support same therein.

. MURRAY A. GLEESON;

CES CITED The following references are or record inlthe I file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number I 7 Name a Date 2,419,824 Davis ll 'Apr.' 29, 1947 

